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"You can't go down a Pennsylvania highway without seeing them. What are they?"

Bill Lewis has a lifelong love of history. 

"Since I was a little kid, I've been kind of obsessed with history. And the more I learned, again, as a child about local as well as statewide history, the more fascinating I found it."

What are they?

"What they really are are markers that mark the people, the places, the important events that are really key to not only Pennsylvania history, but in many cases, national and international history."

Bill Lewis is a Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, the official state agency stewarding history and heritage in the Commonwealth, and he chairs the Selection Committee that approves the blue and gold markers that dot the state's landscape. 

"I think initially we were a little boring, and we covered mostly generals and battles... But over time the program has expanded to cover more popular things. A couple of years ago, we put up a marker to Mr. Rogers, clearly just a great Pennsylvanian who had a real national impact. We have a marker where we believe the very first banana split was ever made. We've kind of started to move into areas of history that to a lot of people are really fascinating."

 Anybody can submit. And Bill lets you know how.

Bill also authored Stories of the Wilkes-Barre Titanic Passengers. The disaster of the Titanic had a profound effect on people from many places in the world, both those left behind at the locations of departure as well as those who awaited their arrival in the New World. This is the story of those who were headed to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and those whose travels would ultimately or temporarily lead them there.

"We had a huge number of people either from Pennsylvania or coming to Pennsylvania...immigrants who are on the Titanic. And every one of their stories is just over the top amazing."

About Bill  Lewis  

Dr. William V. Lewis, Jr. is a Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and serves as a Commission liaison to the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation. He chairs the state Historical marker selection panel for the Pennsylvania State Historical Preservation Office, under the PHMC.

Professionally, he is the Managing Principal and PIM Portfolio Manager at Lewis, Litwinsky & Associates with the Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network in Wilkes-Barre.  Lewis holds a BA and MBA from Wilkes University, an MSFS from The American College for Financial Services, an MA in American History from Pace University, and an MPA and doctorate from Lehigh University.  He has served on the adjunct faculty of Wilkes University and King’s College.

Lewis is a past president of the Luzerne County Historical Society, past president of the Northeast Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution and an officer of the Wyoming Commemorative Association. He served on the national Board of Governors of the American Red Cross, as a board member of Family Service America and on the National Advisory Council of the Center for the Study of the Presidency. He currently is a board member of the Academy of Certified Portfolio Managers.

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Gettysburg Surgeons: Facing a Common Enemy

Barbara Franco will share her findings from a 10-year project to identify the surgeons who cared for the wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. A data base of more than 1200 surgeons, both Union and Confederate, is the basis for her new book, Gettysburg Surgeons: Facing a Common Enemy in the Civil War’s Deadliest Battle. The study includes not only well-documented and prominent physicians who left written accounts, but also the lesser-known surgeons who were part of a complex system of doctors and caretakers both during and after the battle.

About Barbara Franco 

As a public historian, curator, and museum director Barbara Franco has written and consulted about museum practice and historical interpretation.  Her broad interest in the social, cultural, and intellectual history of the 19th century includes the decorative and fine arts, communal societies, fraternal organizations, the role of religion, and the Civil War era. She served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., and Assistant Director for Museums at the Minnesota Historical Society. She is Founding Executive Director Emerita of the Gettysburg Seminary Ridge Museum, President of the Advent Historical Society, and a board member of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. 

Barbara Franco

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For over 245 years, historians have ignored the incidents that pitted the Patriots against the leaders of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Some publicly accused the Quaker leaders of being traitors to their country; they maintained they were merely following the principal tenets of their religious faith. The Patriots had no legal grounds to arrest them, but they did anyway. Rectifying this historical oversight is Norman E. “Ned” Donoghue’s new book, Prisoners of Congress: Philadelphia’s Quakers in Exile, 1777-1778, the untold story of the men who became among the nation’s first political prisoners, published by the Pennsylvania State University Press.
 
The new republic which had declared its independence and the newly created state of Pennsylvania were in their infancy and British General Sir William Howe with over 15,000 troops stood menacingly 40 miles away from capturing the capital city of Philadelphia. Quakers would not sign an oath of allegiance to the new government, nor would they comply with requisitions to protect the city. The British Army represented an existential threat. Would notions of individual liberty or, by contrast, national security prevail as the Continental Congress hotly debated for 9 hours the fate of the 20 men, 19 of them Quakers or ex-Quakers, arrested by Pennsylvania militia on Congress’s recommendation? After Pennsylvania and Congress denied these men a hearing, in an additional authoritarian move, the state further stripped them of the right of habeas corpus, preventing them from appealing to the courts. This was a civil war within an anti-colonial war. And the Quakers were at the epicenter of the American Revolution for ten days in 1777.

Would Continental Congress delegate John Adams, who had defended the British officers accused in the Boston Massacre, recommend the Quaker leaders be sent into exile without even a hearing in their defense? And would the Quaker women, whose men were held on the Virginia frontier for over 7 months, later convince commander-in-chief of the Continental Army General George Washington to aid in the men’s release? Prisoners of Congress is the first full book devoted to this important episode.

About Ned Donoghue

Norman E. “Ned” Donoghue II is a former practicing lawyer, former international charity fundraiser and now a full-time historian and author and speaker. He is a graduate of Henderson High School (West Chester, Pennsylvania), Williams College (History major, honors) and Duke University School of Law. He now resides in Philadelphia and Cecil County, Maryland. 

Ned has led a life devoted to historical milestones. He practiced law as a specialist in private client law (trusts and estates) and capped his career serving as chair of the Probate and Trust Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Thereafter he served as director of planned giving for The Philadelphia Orchestra Association for five years, raising funds in the Orchestra’s $130M Endowment Campaign. 

Ned served 1983-2023 as counsel, officer and board member of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and presently serves as an emeritus trustee. The Foundation is well known for its recognition of excellence in emerging artists in theater, dance and film in America in tribute to H.S.H. Princess Grace of Monaco, the former Grace Kelly. The Foundation awards annual career-enhancing grants. 

Ned was a co-founder of Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and its second president. He co-chaired International Visitors Council of Philadelphia and was its “Citizen-Diplomat of the Year” in 2010. He was appointed by Mayor of Philadelphia Wilson Goode as an officer and board member of We The People 200, Inc., the nonprofit charged with executing the plan for the national celebration in Philadelphia of the Bicentennial of the US Constitution (1787-1987). 

He is the author of Prisoners of Congress, Philadelphia’s Quakers in Exile, 1777-1778 (Penn State University Press, 2023), the first comprehensive scholarly monograph on the Quaker Exile from Philadelphia, a chronicle of the untold story of the men who became among the nation’s first political prisoners. He has spoken about this book at over thirty institutions, including the American Philosophical Society, the Library Company of Philadelphia, Anderson House – the headquarters of the Society of The Cincinnati, embassy row in Washington DC, The Philadelphia Club, Cosmopolitan Club, The Daughter of the American Revolution, The Society of Sons of the American Revolution, and numerous smaller historical societies and clubs.

https://www.normandonoghue.com/

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"...as probably many Scots-Irish people know, there's a lot of misunderstanding about who they are as a people. And I think a lot of modern Americans think one thing, and perhaps us historians would say that maybe they should be thinking about something else.

So today I think a lot of people take pride in being Scots-Irish because they sort of think they know a lot of things about their heritage. But that heritage has been highly stereotyped, both good and bad. And it's been popularized by a lot of modern politicians who have kind of used it to sort of get at what they see as like the critical essences of being an American... one stereotype of the Scots-Irish is that they're these rugged individualists. They're men, they're usually men. It emphasizes masculine kind of conquering of people and land. These were people who settled the frontier. These were people who fought Native Americans. These were people who fought in various wars to defend the United States, the colonies, and then the United States. So a lot of that gets used to kind of construct a picture that kind of epitomizes a lot of what we see as kind of quintessential American values, this kind of, you know, ruggedness, this toughness, this individualism.

And in reality...the picture's a little bit more complicated. They were a pretty tight-knit group. They put a great deal of emphasis on family and community, particularly in their religious communities. They were not necessarily all people who settled on the frontier. Lots and lots of them settled in cities like Philadelphia or New York City or in towns like I've studied Carlisle. They settled in lots of other towns across Pennsylvania. So they were also a highly urban people. And many of the people who came were educated. Many of them had come from parts of the north of Ireland that were actually quite urbanized and even industrialized for the 18th century. I mean, they were part of, many of them were part of the linen economy of the North of Ireland that was really quite a sophisticated manufacturing enterprise for the 18th century. So they're just, they're this very diverse people..."

About Judith Ridner

I am a historian of early America with interests in the American frontier, ethnicity and immigration, oral and public history.  Although most of my research to date focuses on the eighteenth-century Pennsylvania and the Scots-Irish, my work has broadened over time to include oral history, public and digital history, and especially material culture.

I’m currently working on two book projects. In Clothing the Babel: The Material Culture of Ethnic Identity in Early America, I’m analyzing how clothing and other items of personal adornment that various European immigrants wore influenced how eighteenth-century Americans perceived and reacted to them.  My other project, The Dirty History of Soap, traces the material history of this ordinary substance, from the ancient world to the present.

I am also co-editor of the academic journal, Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal.

1994 Ph.D., History, The College of William & Mary
1988 M.A., History with a concentration in Historical Archaeology, The College of William & Mary
1986 B.A., History and International Studies, Dickinson College -- Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude

[email protected]

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November 12, 1758. The story of Washington "putting his life in the most jeopardy it had ever been before or since:"

 "...Colonel Mercer is engaged with the enemy...He needs help. So Washington... takes a group of volunteers, mainly from his Virginia regiment... to go out to reinforce Colonel Mercer. Forbes will write that he sent out a group to surround the enemy. So we think Washington is...using the musket fire to pretty much guide him as he goes, keeping it off on one of his sides, so that way he can continue to scoot around behind the enemy. And the ideal plan is get them caught in a crossfire and take prisoners. You know, any prisoners they can get, information on Fort Duquesne is going to be incredibly crucial. But as he's moving along, it's darker, it's getting darker and darker and darker. And the only thing he has is that musket fire. That's his northern star. And then all of a sudden it stops. And because it stops, now he's lost that guide. He sends out scouts, but they don't run into anything. But as he's going, what happens? Maybe there's a shadowy figure that darts from one tree to another. There's a flash of a musket barrel, a musket shot fires out, natural instinct is to fire back. Many of these men are Virginians. They begin to fan out to the trees, taking deadly aim where they can see, because they're good woodsmen. They know how to fight in this terrain. And perhaps as Washington is assessing the situation, maybe he hears a familiar voice. Maybe he sees in one of those musket flashes a flash of a blue and red officer's uniform, and he realizes that the worst thing has occurred. This is not the enemy. He has not run into the French or the Native Americans. Instead, he has run into Colonel Mercer and their own soldiers. 

Matt Gault Bio:

Matt Gault was named Fort Ligonier’s Director of Education and Living History in 2025 after acting as the Director of Education since May of 2020. Matt’s career began at Fort Ligonier as a college intern while enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Upon graduation, he was selected to join Fort Ligonier’s Education Department as the Assistant Director of Education in 2014. 

 During his time at the Fort, Matt has received several prestigious recognitions including the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau 2017 Tourism Employee of the Year Award and the PA Museums Association Carol Wickkiser Award presented to an outstanding young museum professional.

 Matt leads the development and production of Fort Ligonier’s educational initiatives including exciting educational and living history programs for students and visitors from all across the globe. Matt is also known for his riveting portrayal of a young George Washington and will go to great lengths to increase awareness about French and Indian War history. In August 2021, clad in a breechcloth, Matt was the only historical interpreter to complete a 30-mile hike from Fort Ligonier to Bushy Run to commemorate Bushy Run’s anniversary. Matt resides in Greensburg, Pennsylvania with his family.

https://www.fortligonier.org

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"People are interested in the stories of people..."

"David McCullough, America's favorite historian, Pulitzer Prize winner, Adams, Truman, the Johnstown Flood, he used to say, he was actually quoting the librarian of Congress when he said trying to build a future without understanding the past is like trying to plant cut flowers. You know, it's just not gonna happen. So I think that those roots are important and it's up to us to show that younger generation how they're connected to the past. And young people, the thing that they're interested in are the same things that we were interested in, and that is people. People are interested in the stories of people, and whether you show them that in a book, a film, a performance, an exhibition, or a podcast, it really doesn't matter. It's the stories, the engaging stories of people, the inspiring stories of people that we need to focus on as museum professionals and educators."

Andy Masich bio

 Masich is President and CEO of the Smithsonian-affiliated Senator John Heinz History Center, recently recognized by USA TODAY as America’s #1 History Museum three years in a row. The History Center has also been named Pittsburgh’s Best Museum by readers of Pittsburgh Magazine for five consecutive years. 

 Since 1998, he has led Pittsburgh’s 370,000 square-foot Heinz History Center and family of museums, which includes the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum; Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village (the oldest site of human habitation in North America) located in Avella, Pa.; and the Fort Pitt Museum.

 Under Masich’s leadership, the History Center has earned national recognition for its award-winning exhibitions and innovative educational programs that focus on the American experience with a Western Pennsylvania connection.

 A respected authority on American history and Western Pennsylvania’s heritage and culture, Masich is a trusted expert for national media outlets, including the Associated Press, New York Times, the Travel Channel, the History Channel, CNN, and more. Masich is the host of the popular “Time Capsules” history podcast on KDKA-AM radio and is a monthly contributor to KDKA-TV’s morning show, “Pittsburgh Today Live.”

 Masich has also authored or co-authored award-winning books on a wide range of subjects and is an adjunct professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University.

 Masich currently serves as a commissioner (and former chairman) of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC); and on the America250PA Commission, which is charged with developing commemorative programs leading up to the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026. 

 https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/

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"The road to Pennsylvania, for Penn, began in the Cork prison 15 years before he set foot in America." 

 You can't understand Pennsylvania history - "The Holy Experiment" - without knowing about William Penn. There's no better source than the man who wrote the biography of William Penn.

Reflecting his interest in the intersections between political theory and political action (as well as his status as a born-and-raised Pennsylvanian), Murphy has engaged deeply with the life, career and political thought of William Penn, a figure who brought theory and practice together in the early modern British Atlantic. He is the author of William Penn: A Life (Oxford, 2019) and Liberty, Conscience, and Toleration: The Political Thought of William Penn (Oxford, 2016); and co-editor (with John Smolenski) of The Worlds of William Penn (Rutgers, 2019). A scholarly edition of Penn's political writings for the Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought series appeared in 2021.

Murphy's research takes up the intersections between politics and religion, in both historical and contemporary contexts. He is particularly interested in the emergence of religious liberty and liberty of conscience in early modern England and America, and the ongoing ramifications of these debates as they continue to unsettle American politics. He is the author, most recently, of Toleration: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2025), which canvasses the history, development, and contemporary global status of toleration as both a concept and a contested legal practice. His current research continues to bring together the political and the religious, exploring the concept of political martyrdom and the ways in which studying politically-charged deaths can help us make sense of the complex interplay of death, religion, politics, collective memory, and symbolic power.

Professor; Department Chair

[email protected]

Political Science; Political Theory; Administration

Education/Degree:

B.A. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (1989)
M.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison (1991)
Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison (1996)

Andrew Murphy joined the Political Science Department at Michigan after appointments at Virginia Commonwealth University, Rutgers University, Valparaiso University, and the University of Chicago. He became department chair in July 2024.

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MICHAEL L. NORRIS                                           Executive Director

As the Executive Director of the Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia, which owns and manages Carpenters’ Hall, a National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia’s historic district whose members constitute the nation’s oldest continuously operating craft guild, Michael oversees all of the Company’s programmatic and operational activities. Michael joined the Company in June 2019, after a seven-year tenure as Vice President of External Relations and Chief Strategy Officer at the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, where he oversaw the organization’s policy, advocacy and community-engagement programs and its fundraising activities. Before that, Michael served for eight years as the Executive Director of Art-Reach, which connects underserved audiences with cultural experiences. Prior to leading Art-Reach, Michael spent nine years at the Arden Theatre Company, managing all aspects of fundraising, marketing, public relations and community outreach. Michael began his career in nonprofit administration as the Assistant Development Director at Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre, the nation’s oldest continuously operating theatre and a National Historic Landmark. He started his professional career in editing and publishing, working as an editorial researcher at TV Guide magazine in Radnor, PA, and then editing the regional leadership directory Who’s Who in the Delaware Valley. A native of Chester County, PA, Michael received a B.A. in journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia. He received a certificate in fundraising from the University of Pennsylvania and has received supplemental education in nonprofit management through coursework offered by National Arts Strategies, the Fundraising School at the University of Indiana and the Stanford University Business School. He is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Philadelphia, which named him one of the region’s top 76 “Creative Connectors.” He serves on the board of PA Museums, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the Histories Collaborative of Philadelphia.

 To find out more about Carpenters' Company, Carpenters' Hall, and its amazing history, go to https://www.carpentershall.org/pages/story-of-carpenters-hall 

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Andrea Lowery is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) and PHMC is the official history agency of the Commonwealth. Andrea shares how PHMC stewards the history and heritage of Pennsylvania through its bureaus  (State Museum, State Archives, State Historic Preservation Office, and Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums) and programs such as the blue and gold historic markers ("history on a stick") and grants to encourage organizations to preserve and conserve historic buildings and sites. She discusses how a family member, her great-great-great grandmother, changed the lives of thousands of young boys in coal country and inspired her own love of history. Andrea also outlines the upcoming major renovation that will  transform the State Museum complex  to serve a 21st century audience.

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Welcome to We Love PA History! - the podcast that explores Pennsylvania's past, one story at a time.